Antonyms Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The opposite of COERCIVE is Gentle.

Coercive means using force, threats or pressure to make someone act. Gentle describes the mild, non-forceful manner that is its opposite.

Progressive means favouring reform, opinionated means holding fixed views, and promoting means encouraging or advancing something. A coercive person can be any of these, so none is an opposite.

Answer: C

The opposite of RELINQUISH is Possess.

To relinquish is to give up or let go of something one holds. To possess is to have and keep it, the opposite state.

Abdicate and renounce are synonyms, both meaning to give up a right, office or claim. Deny means to refuse or to declare untrue, which is not the opposite of giving something up.

Answer: A

The opposite of autonomy is Dependence.

Autonomy is self-government, the freedom of a person, region or body to manage its own affairs (Greek autos, self, and nomos, law). Its direct opposite is dependence, being governed by or relying on another.

Surrender is the act of giving up, not a state of being governed by others. Submissiveness is a personal trait of meekness, and slavery is an extreme condition of a person; each is related in tone, but none is the precise antonym of a political word for self-rule.

Answer: B

The opposite of recede is Advance.

To recede is to move back or withdraw from a position; flood water recedes as it drains away. The antonym is to advance, to move forward.

Withdraw is a synonym of recede, the opposite of what is asked. Approach means to come near something and rush means to move fast; neither is the direct reverse of moving back, which is why advance is the best answer.

Answer: C

The opposite of precarious is Safe.

A precarious road after a landslide is unsafe and unstable, likely to give way. The antonym is safe, or secure and stable.

Dangerous is a synonym, not an antonym. Narrow and wide describe the road's width, which has nothing to do with whether it is precarious, so they are distractors built on the word road.

Answer: D

The opposite of lenient is Severe.

A lenient officer is mild and tolerant, slow to punish. The antonym is severe or strict, one who demands much and punishes firmly.

Obstinate means stubborn, unwilling to change one's mind, which is a different quality. Annoyed and angry describe passing feelings, while leniency and severity describe a standing manner of treating others.

Answer: C

The opposite of partisan is impartial.

Partisan means strongly favouring one party, cause or side. A newspaper that has become partisan takes sides; an impartial one treats all sides fairly.

Biased and one sided are synonyms of partisan, not opposites, which is the trap. Supporter is the noun sense of the word (a partisan is a committed supporter), so it too is close in meaning rather than opposite.

Answer: B

The opposite of homage is disrespect.

To pay homage is to show public honour and respect, here to a person who has died. Its opposite is a lack of respect.

Adoration, reverence and allegiance all express honour, devotion or loyalty, so each is near homage in meaning rather than opposite to it.

Answer: A

The opposite of adversity is prosperity.

Adversity means hardship or misfortune. The sentence itself sets the two words against each other: prosperity is a great teacher, adversity a greater one.

Disaster, trouble and misery are all kinds of misfortune, so they are synonyms or near-synonyms of adversity, not antonyms.

Answer: A

The opposite of innovator is duplicator.

An innovator introduces something new. Its opposite is one who only copies what already exists, a duplicator.

Pioneer, inventor and developer all describe people who create or bring in something new, so they are close in meaning to innovator rather than opposite.